Wynn Resorts in Las Vegas intends to build the largest water structure on the Las Vegas Strip as part of a .5 billion expansion.
Wynn Resorts says it might add 1,000 rooms and a 38-acre lagoon as part of its proposed improvement, which would include aquatic outdoor events and nightly fireworks shows.
Initially called the Wynn Paradise Park, it would be located where the casino’s current golf course is situated, on the southwest corner of Paradise Road and East Desert Inn.
Talk of removing the golf course and replacing it with a convention center and now a water park has occurred in recent years, but the newer, more concrete plans suggest Wynn Resorts is moving ahead with the water park project.
If built, Wynn Resorts says it intends to hold water skiing contests and other events, while providing visitors with a place on the Las Vegas Strip where they can enjoy a day at the beach.
In an April conference call with investors, Wynn Resorts Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn said the project gives the company a chance to “reinvent Las Vegas” and create an “idyllic beach paradise surrounded by white sand,” where people can “live large and have a good time.”
“Just like Disney,” said Wynn.
The project must be approved by Wynn Resorts’ board of directors, but Wynn suggests that is likely, and work can begin later this year.
If so, Wynn says the project will be completed by 2020, and would include adding about 260,000 square feet of convention, events, and meetings space.
The project’s 1,000 new hotel rooms and suites likely would be built in a new tower overlooking the lagoon.
The lagoon likely would be built on the east side of the Encore and Wynn casino resorts towers, and the 1,000-room tower would be shorter than the two existing towers, while sharing their same copper-colored exterior.
Plans call for ringing the lagoon with a mile-long beach made of white sand, a boardwalk, and a 120-foot island, from which nightly fireworks shows would be held. A 75,000-square-foot luxury retail space would offer high-end shopping, plus restaurants and drinking establishments.
While the project would be built on the location currently occupied by the resort’s golf course, Wynn said plans are finalized on what to do with the golf course. Some of it might remain as part of the new development, but changes certainly will be made.
Although it wants to add a water park, Wynn Resorts said it would have a positive impact on the resort’s water usage. Instead of watering thirsty grass, the water park would give Wynn Resorts greater control over water usage by enabling it to recapture every drop of water use and reuse it.
Telsey analyst David Katz said Paradise Park would generate between $400 million and $500 million in EBIDTA, compare to only $5 million for the golf course.
Wynn announced the Las Vegas develop project at the same time Wynn Resorts is undertaking a major upgrade of its Macau operations.
Wynn Resorts is building its 1,700-room Wynn Palace on the Cotai Strip in Macau, which is expected to be completed this summer. Wynn Resorts also is undertaking its Wynn Boston Harbor development in Massachusetts, which is to be done in 2019.
While Wynn Resorts has big plans in the works, its chairman has a tenuous hold on his casino empire.
Elaine Wynn recently divorced Steve Wynn, no longer is on the board of directors, and wants to sell her shares, which Steve Wynn still controls.
So long as he controls those shares, Steve Wynn still has effective control of the company and its board of directors. Without them, Wynn no longer controls enough shares to impose his will upon the board of directors.
While new developments are in the works, Wynn Resorts announced it will open its new poker room on May 26.
The renovated room is 62 percent bigger at 8,600 square feet, has 35 large-screen TVs, and a dedicated sports book window. It also has a high-limit area, and adds three tables to the resorts’ poker room, raising its total to 28.
Wynn Resorts said it will continue offering its Wynn Classic series of poker tournaments at its new poker facility.
